Dreams of a World
by lingching
Summary: Jiraiya met Kakashi at a funeral.


**Title: Dreams of a World**

The first time Jiraiya met him was at Sakumo's funeral. At first, he had not bothered at all with the rumours of the suicide of Konoha's White Fang because he believed he knew Sakumo best and such a strong-headed man would prefer to die on the battlefield. So when he received the Sandaime's letter, informing him of the aforementioned funeral, to say he was shocked was an understatement. Sakumo had been like a brother to him.

He had rushed back to Konoha, arriving on the day of the ceremony, only to find it cold and deserted. Those present were only the Sandaime, his genius student, a few Jounins and Sakumo's son. Yes, he first met Hatake Kakashi at a funeral, seven years old and already with hard, unforgiving eyes. Despite having the same shade of silver-white hair and black, deep eyes, he was nothing like the White Fang. Sakumo had such clear, eager eyes and a sweet, boyish smile. Jiraiya could not find it in his heart to believe that the thoughts of suicide had even _crossed _his mind. Yet, another part of his mind was so angry, so horrifyingly mad, that Sakumo would even think of abandoning his own child when he had once pitied Jiraiya for being an orphan. He quashed that thought quickly before he could go on a mad rampage and tear Sakumo from his grave to be choked and throttled.

They acknowledged him with a nod, but the brat just fixed him with a cold, indifferent glare. How rude. He studied the boy carefully and noticed how weary and pale he looked. Had he slept at all? If someone as perceptive as his student had not noticed, Jiraiya would personally whack him on the head.

"Oi, gaki. Don't look at me like that. Do you know who I am?" Those were his first words to the brat. Unfortunately, Sandaime-sensei did not seem too amused by his attempt to lighten up the atmosphere and Jiraiya was instead the one being whacked that day. The brat had the gall to roll his eyes at him! The nerve of kids nowadays.

"Hey, shorty! I'm the great frog hermit, the Sannin Jiraiya!" Dramatic pose...and he towered above the boy and demanded his respect. The brat merely snorted at him and muttered something like "insane, old creep" under his breath. He was sent dangling over a cliff for that comment. Hah, take that, gaki!

* * *

After that fateful cliff incident, Kakashi and Jiraiya officially became bickering partners. Glaring matches and fights would ensue until Kakashi was tied to a tree or sent flailing down a cliff, depending on Jiraiya's mood. Usually, Konoha's Yellow Flash would come to the rescue, if he was not too busy with missions.

Five trips down a cliff and two kunais in the shoulder later, Jiraiya realized that the little brat actually enjoyed their fights and bantering and the way Jiraiya never minces his words. It seemed to him that the brat did not like being treated like a fragile doll that needed careful supervision and guarded words.

Thus, under the guise of training, he brought the kid to his favourite hideout: "The Waterfall". He wanted to give the boy some memories to smile upon in the future. What else would be more smile-inducing than naked women, frolicking in the water? It never crossed his mind that the brat was severely underage. He took great pleasure in seeing Kakashi's beet-red face and bulging black eyes, so he was not offended when the brat called him a "perverted old man" and threatened to tell his sensei.

However, the pretty young things in the water overheard them and kunais came flying. Jiraiya was secretly relieved that Tsunade was not among them. He still had a life to enjoy, thank you very much. Kakashi was mumbling something about being seven years old and still having a world to explore. Jiraiya cackled to himself and rubbed his hands in glee. Oh, yesssssssssssss...what fun...

* * *

They wrecked so much havoc in the next few weeks that Jiraiya was dragged to the Hokage's office to be lectured by the Sandaime and the village elders. He was bored to tears for six hours and his plan to drag the brat into this melee with him failed miserably because the brat was _young_. How unfair to punish the old, but forgive the young.

When he escaped from his near death, he was met with an eye-twitching Yellow Flash, who ignored him completely and marched straight into the Hokage's office. He almost smiled at the thought that it was _them _who would be getting an earful this time. His good mood disappeared however, when he was unable to locate a certain brat. Probably locked away somewhere to be rid of Jiraiya's bad influence.

He was proven wrong a week later, when he found a bruised and bandaged Kakashi sitting alone in a tree. "Mission" was all the boy shot at him before he resumed brooding. Jiraiya noticed how sickly pale he looked and how eerily blank his eyes were. And was he shivering? Jiraiya did not need to put two and two together to get the answer. He climbed up the tree and sat beside the brat, balancing himself by focusing chakra onto his feet, before the boy allowed him some room. Jiraiya could feel his tremors.

"I killed someone." It sounded so timid and young that it hurt Jiraiya's ears.

"Aahh...Not very pleasant was it?" Did he sound too uncaring?

There was no reply, but Jiraiya noticed the unconscious way Kakashi's hands wiped against his clothes, as if he was trying to get rid of some imaginary blood. Frowning, he took one of Kakashi's hands and laid it in his palm. It looked so tiny and delicate in Jiraiya's own bear-like ones. Startled, the boy's head snapped up and he looked at the older man imploringly.

"Hmm...you have such a short lifeline." He muttered callously, as he traced the little palm and trained his eyes coolly on the kid. "Well, comes with the job, doesn't it? Shinobis kill or be killed. You just have to learn to deal with it."

Black eyes glowed with something akin to anger and stared unflinchingly into his own. "Easier said than done." The hand was snatched back.

Jiraiya shrugged and ruffled the brat's hair just to annoy him. "You're supposed to be a genius. Figure your way out of this. If you want a shoulder to cry on, your sensei's always there. I'll even let you use mine."

He must be wearing an expectant look because Kakashi threw him a defiant glare. "I'm not going to cry." Icy, forceful but childish.

Even as he said that, the brat crawled slowly into his lap and lay against his chest, fisting his shirt nervously. "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep now." There was no request in that statement and the brat had shut his eyes before he could reply. Not that he would stop the boy anyway, though he did consider sending the brat on another trip down the cliff just to see whether the brat's spirit would return or not. Nah, probably not. His student would shove a Rasengan down his throat.

Said blond student was _already_ waiting for him when he got off the tree. Was he that predictable? Jiraiya passed the sleeping child into his arms and was rewarded with a blinding smile. It meant much more than a simple thank you. Kakashi sighed and burrowed deeper into his sensei's arms.

"They wouldn't let me follow, sensei. They placed a child in a battlefield, but would not allow me to follow."

Jiraiya understood the helplessness in that voice. It was another genius who stood before him after all. He found his hands ruffling the blond locks of his student. Blue, vibrant eyes met his and Jiraiya knew that Sakumo's son was in good hands. Even if those hands were more than a decade younger than his.

So, the very next day, Jiraiya left Konoha again. He might be thirty-something, but like any other 7-year-old, he also had a world to see. Maybe he'll write a book about his travels. Or girls he'll meet. Or waterfalls. Or girls _and_ waterfalls _and_ ass-kicking heroes _and_ creaking beds. Oohhh….what fun!

* * *

Sometimes, Jiraiya feels that he had failed Sakumo and his genius student. Sure, over the years, he returned frequently to Konoha to check on his hometown and also to see how the brat has grown. They had their fair share of fights, arguments and even once, a cold war that only ended when Kakashi finally quit the ANBU. Yet, all was always forgiven and forgotten. So how had they drifted apart? When had those friendly bantering and name-calling stopped? Why can't Kakashi look him in the eye anymore?

Regret is a foolish feeling, but that was what Jiraiya felt when he leaned against the railings and could only open his mouth to talk about Naruto and the Akatsuki. It was what he felt when he took Kakashi's reminder of his sensei away from Konoha and out of the brat's hands. Because he could not leave the sun in the cold and dark sea of despair.

One day, Jiraiya would be back to retrieve the drowning brat from under the icy depths of that sea, but until then, he will just have to believe in Kakashi's will to survive. After all, didn't he still have a world to explore?

* * *

End. 


End file.
